


Sugar Bliss

by Manickmondays



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: M/M, Slow Burn, baker/photographer au, gavin is an irresponsible Gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-07-13 00:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7129988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manickmondays/pseuds/Manickmondays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeremy hires Gavin to take pictures of his bakery, and it should have been a simple, hour long photoshoot. In and out, easy, like taking candy (cookies, perhaps, considering) from a baby.<br/>As a lot of things go, it ends up being a lot more than that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

To: gfree@gmail.com

From: doole22j@siftedgifts.com

Hey,

I was recommended to you by a friend, because I need pictures of my bakery for the website for the bakery, and I was just wondering if you were available on Sunday at nine?

Thanks,

Jeremy

\--

To: doole22j@siftedgifts.com

From: gfree@gmail.com

Hey, Jeremy

First off, thank you for choosing me to help your business grow! We’ll obviously need to discuss pricing, more specifically what you’d like out of the shoot, other businesslike things, but for right now, Sunday works great!

Sincerely,

Gavin Free

\--

Gavin arrived at the bakery promptly at nine- well, ten minutes before nine, he was always chronically early. He hoped that he wasn’t _too_ early; the little bakery seemed dark and in no way occupied by its proprietor. He rested his forearm on his camera bag and peered into the bakery, hazarding a light knock on the glass door. When someone (Jeremy was his name, right? He needed to be better about the details, make personal connections) didn’t immediately come to the door, he rocked back on his heels a bit and looked up at the sign absently. He had gone on to the website and it was surprisingly well made, if lacking good pictures. There was a reason he was here after all.

He was a bit lost in thought, already planning out some shots he wanted to try and get when the lock on the door snapped open with a metallic click. He faintly registered the door opening and the… admittedly rather short man stepping out of it.

“Are you… Gavin?” The man’s voice pulled Gavin from though and he straightened up a bit, beaming and extending a hand. Gavin got a good look at him and he felt his heart skip a couple beats before moving past that quickly. No sense in getting distracted on the job just because a client was cuter than average.

“I am! You must be Jeremy.”

“That is me, come on in.” He stepped back a bit, waving Gavin into the bakery and smiling warmly. The door shut behind them, little chimes tinkling happily as it did. Jeremy had wandered off a bit and started turning on lights. Gavin watched as the lights warmed up, pleased he wouldn’t have to add a lot of his own light. He had been a little worried, the place seemed a little too dark to get good photos, with the dark wood service counter and sage walls, but with the sun and well placed lights, he’d have no trouble getting something good.

“Hope you didn’t wait too long out there.”

“Oh no, not at all. I was honestly surprised to see you here early. Most clients are either exactly on time or late.” They both chuckled a little, Gavin setting his camera bag down on the counter.

“I’ve been here since seven. I just assumed most normal people don’t like to try and be places that early in the morning.”

“Well, thank you for considering that, I am not the biggest fan of going places before eight.” Gavin pulled his camera out of the bag and fumbling with his lens for a minute before screwing it on correctly. “Nice place you got here.” Gavin absently dragged his fingers along the wood as he let his camera turn on.

“Glad to hear that, it cost me a fortune.” Jeremy looked up from the cupcakes he was moving over to a cooling sheet with a proud grin, and it made Gavin’s heart do flips in his chest. That really could stop anytime, if it pleased. “But if I was gonna do this, I was gonna do it right. Gonna have the place I wanted from the beginning.” He chuckled a little, shaking his head. “God, you don’t care about my life story, can I help you out in any way?”

Gavin took a lip between his teeth, “Well, you mentioned wanting some pictures of just the food and such so, perhaps just getting me stuff to actually take pictures of and not making me guess?”

“Oh, shit of course, I should have done that before now. I had like two hours…” Jeremy sort of mumbled the last part, seemingly talking to himself and Gavin waved the comment off.

“No, no it’s no trouble, you won’t be holding anything up. I need to do some lighting tests and stuff, make sure I don’t have to set up anything else… and you probably don’t want me talking photography all day so I’ll just get started.” Gavin cursed himself for being so _damned_ awkward, and he knew it was because of the way his heart fluttered whenever Jeremy would smile. He was just being unprofessional and he knew it. He needed to focus, and not get so distracted just because his client was cute. He worked with _literal, actual models_ sometimes, and he wouldn’t get like this.

Whatever, he just needed to throw himself into the work and then it would be all he could think of. Right? Right.

He did just that, flitting about and fiddling with lights and taking a lot of photos of horribly uninteresting things like the little buckets holding forks to get a sense of the light. And it was all going great until Jeremy quietly piped up and said he had picked out some items for Gavin, and he caught sight of Jeremy’s smile again. He gave what he hoped was a sincere smile and nod and turned away, feeling his face heat up. He could do this. All he had to do was get the pictures of the food, the pictures of the store, and he could be done. They wouldn’t even have to meet do go over the pictures, they could do it by email, and he could put this embarrassing unprofessionalism out of his mind. He was an _adult_ with a _job_ , damnit, not fourteen years old again and in secondary school back home, finding his first crush.

Gavin looked over the collection of baked goods, seeing what he had to work with and pointedly ignoring Jeremy continuing to pull cupcakes from the oven. It was all fairly standard stuff, except for the absolutely _gorgeous_ cake, intricate piping covering the small cake. It looked like lace, white frosting over sky blue fondant.

“Did you make this?” Gavin pointed to the cake, eyebrow cocked.

“Would be a little dishonest of me to sell something I didn’t, why?” Jeremy wiped off his hands on his jeans, frowning like he forgot something before looking up at Gavin.

“It’s just… beautiful, I’m actually a little afraid to move it.” Jeremy chuckled a little, ducking his head to disguise his blush.

“Well, thanks, I spent a lot of time swearing at pastry bags to get that right. And you want it over by where you’ve been taking pictures, right?” Gavin nodded, a little proud of himself for keeping it together in the face of Jeremy blushing. He had this. _Easy_.

Jeremy moved the cake effortlessly over to the little wood bar up against the glass, where the sunlight made the frosting shine. “You don’t mind me working while you do, do you?”

“Oh, nah you’re good, I’d rather not keep you from doing stuff. You won’t bother me.”

“Ok, good, cause I just remembered I have to make some cinnamon rolls for a friend’s mom’s birthday and she’s an old lady so I can’t disappoint her and… yeah.” Jeremy awkwardly scratched at the back of his neck.

“Feel free to make an old bird some cinnamon rolls while I work.” Gavin chuckled a little and went back to fiddling with his camera, adjusting some settings for the new item. He was able to lose himself again in the almost rhythmic shutter clicks and moving item after item to his little spot (and cleaning off a truly incredible amount of crumbs). It wasn’t too bad, the almost companionable silence that fell over them.

That is, until he caught Jeremy kneading dough out of the corner of his eye, and he was gone. Done. Goodbye. See you next Tuesday. Over the edge and out of control. He just _had_ to ask this guy out. There was no getting around it. Because sure, he had noticed how strong Jeremy looked (and put it out of his mind, thank you very much), but now he was seeing that strength being _used_ , and he had lost all semblance of control.

So when he went to taking pictures of the bakery, he didn’t fault himself if his camera drifted over to the owner of said bakery, telling himself they were good pictures anyways. They were, after all. If those pictures happened to be of Jeremy kneading dough, it was just a… happy accident that benefitted all of them in the long run. He didn’t say no when Jeremy sheepishly asked him to taste the glaze he was working on- it was a damn good glaze. And he was _definitely_ a little warm because of flitting around in a bakery, and _definitely_ not because of Jeremy. No way. (Oh god yes way, totally yes way.)

Gavin wasn’t even embarrassed of his lack of control anymore, and so when he felt he had been there plenty long enough to get good photos so that Jeremy would be pleased with the results, he went digging through his bag for his little informal invoice sheets.

“I just do this for record purposes, all the formal stuff is just done in email, we can talk a bit later.” Gavin pointed a few things out on the paper before hurriedly scribbling his number at the top, “Oh, and feel free to call me if you’d like to meet up. To discuss the pictures, of course.” He tacked on the last part quickly, noticing how Jeremy’s eyes widened at the suggestion of getting together again. Gavin barely contained his wince; he was _supposed_ to use his number as an in. He didn’t usually like discussing photos in person, but he had cocked it up and made it seem like he’d _never_ want to meet up with Jeremy for anything other than business. Real smooth there, Gav.

“Same time next week work ok?” He didn’t want to wait a week, but he had learned to work with the client and not against them.

“Works perfectly for me. I think you’ve got a nice place here, so I definitely think you’ve got some good stuff for the website on here,” Gavin tapped his camera bag, “so I’ll get about fifty or so pictures for you to look over and we’ll be good.”

Jeremy smiled, and Gavin could almost _feel_ the pride in the smile. “Perfect, thanks. Oh! And take a muffin.” Jeremy pushed a muffin towards him with a little nod. “It’s chocolate chip. The best kind, of course.”

Gavin’s heart skipped a beat before he reached for the muffin with a stuttered hand. He knew the gesture probably meant nothing, but he couldn’t help but take it a little to heart. He had to have a _little_ hope. He’d been single too long to not have any hope.

“See you in a week.”

“See you, and thanks, again. I kinda feel like a real business owner now.” Gavin ducked his head and smiled, waving at him with the hand holding the muffin as he stepped out the door to the ringing chimes.

He absently munched on the (absolutely spectacular) muffin as he waited for the bus, sort of scolding himself for being so head over heels for a _client_ , but reveling in the feeling of having a crush. It felt silly and juvenile, how his heart fluttered just as bad as it did when he was fourteen and first thinking of anybody in a crush sort of way, but he let himself enjoy the fluttery hearts and barely concealed blushes. And if it was maybe going to lead somewhere, he was going to enjoy it even more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy and Gavin have a very businesslike coffee. Very, very businesslike.
> 
> (And Lloyd is the least helpful cat ever.)

Gavin came back to his little apartment to find his cat on the table, sunning herself and purring a little when she cracked an eye and saw that Gavin had come back. He plopped down in a chair and buried his face in her fuzz, murmuring a little ‘ello Lloyd’. He had a good couple hours till his next job, and wanted to maybe sift through those photos and switch out memory cards before going out again. Getting to nuzzle into cat fluff was also a motivator.

After a couple solid minutes of cat snuggling action, Gavin scooped his laptop and camera bag up and plopped down on his couch. Lloyd followed after and curled up into a little ball next to him. He buried a hand in her fur, scratching behind her ears and making her purrs rumble his leg. He used a hand to get his memory card out and shove it in his laptop, absently waiting for the pictures from the day to load.

And they did.

And Gavin stopped petting his cat to bury his face in his hands and try not to cry, because out of the some two hundred pictures he had taken about… thirty didn’t have Jeremy in them.

He was _hopeless._

_Utterly fucking hopeless._

He slammed his laptop shut and really tried to not to throw it onto his coffee table, because a broken computer would just be the best way to continue this embarrassing day. It wasn’t even noon and he had broken his record for utter, capital G, Gay behavior in an hour. And that was counting the time he had gotten smashed at a bar a few months back and drunkenly made out with _at least_ six guys.

“Lloyd…” No response. Gavin poked her, which got a disgruntled _mrowp_ out of her before she settled back down to dozing up against Gavin’s leg.

 _“Lloyd...”_ His whine was more insistent this time, and it changed nothing. But he kept complaining to his cat. “I messed up, Lloyd, I’ve got a proper crush on a _client_.” Lloyd was unfazed. “I bloody took pictures of his _arms_! What was I gonna say about that? ‘Oh sorry the camera went off’? Not likely.” Gavin flopped back, tenting his legs over the cat and dug out his phone.

_ryan_

_I messed up_

**I don’t have time to come get you, I have work in half an hour.**

_shut it_

_I have a crush_

**Congrats?**

_on a client_

**I rescind my congratulations. But how did you mess up? You have a crush, so what? You never have to see him again, right?**

_For one I do have to see him again_

_and I messed up by takin pictures of him_

_like_

_lots of pictures_

_and he didnt ask for them_

_it wasnt a modeling thing I was there for his bakery_

**Yikes.**

_yeah_

**Do you think you can salvage the situation?**

_im meeting him for coffee so maybe_

**Aw, how cute, your first date. Be sure to wear something nice!**

_sod off its for business_

_and besides the best I can hope for is that he doesnt hate me_

_were not going to skip off into the sunset hand in hand after he finds out I was much too gay to control myself_

**Don’t rule that out as a possibility, though. Some guys have got to be into that. Overbearing gayness, I mean.**

_ever the optimist arent you rye_

**I do try. But if you want supportive love advice, text Meg. She’ll give you the ‘chase your dreams’ spiel. If you want more sarcasm try me in an hour or so. Gotta go.**

_seeya_

_thanks for the help_

**No problem. Now seriously, have to go. Look out for me in GQ in a couple months.**

_fancy_

Gavin let his phone drop to his chest with a displeased sigh. Neither his cat nor his friend made him feel better, and what good was that? He really didn’t want the chase your dreams spiel from Meg, because despite what she seemed to think, the world did not operate like it did in movies. His life was not a rom-com, and there was not a chance in hell this would turn into something after his ludicrous display. Honestly? He just wanted to feel sorry for himself. That night, was a night for drinking, Netflix, and snuggling with his cat. But first, he had to get through three more clients.

And, apparently, what ended up being the longest week of his life. After a couple days he got a text from Jeremy to set up a place and time to meet, and he spent hours worrying about it before he just forced himself to go to bed (and stop thinking about if they were dating, how Jeremy would text a couple days after their first meeting). Then every time he went to clear his memory card, the world’s most embarrassing folder was staring there at him, labeled with the client name and date as if it were a normal job that he didn’t find himself thinking about constantly. He hadn’t even edited the pictures down, because he almost couldn’t bring himself to get rid of the pictures, as embarrassing as they were. He _did_ still have a crush on Jeremy.

Eventually he did, shamefully keeping them ‘for future reference’, and had a nice selection of pictures. Gavin tried to keep the number of pictures of Jeremy down, selecting ones he might not actually be ashamed to put on his website, but it was awful hard to pare down ‘bad’ pictures when Gavin didn’t think there was a thing wrong with any of them. He decided not to follow Ryan’s advice about dressing nice. He needed this to be as little like a date as possible, and showing up in a collared shirt was not the way to do that.

So, a cozy hoodie over a t-shirt it was. He wanted to be comfortable after all. He packed up his laptop and camera, and headed out to the bus.

~~

Jeremy had a bad habit. It wasn’t exactly the _worst_ habit, but it sometimes led to situations like these.

You know, being a good forty-five minutes early for a meeting, and having to buy two lattes _already_ to not seem like some sort of loitering asshole in a flour stained t-shirt. So now his leg was bouncing a bit because of the caffeine added into his system, complementing his usual Monster-for-breakfast (he even had a shelf in his fridge just for the infernal things).

He checked his phone near obsessively, just for something to do while waiting for Gavin, and he ended up playing far too many rounds of some game he didn’t even know he had on his phone till he really went digging for something to do. Eventually the time slipped by, and he looked up just in time to see Gavin walk in the door, and he hated that the first thing that came to mind was that it looked like a movie. His hair was tousled _just so_ and the light was just right and _man_ had Jeremy really forgotten how bad his little infatuation with Gavin was.

Because, ok, it’s not fair that someone who got to work with models was as hot as some of the models he worked with! (Jeremy knows this for a fact, he spent far too much time looking over Gavin’s portfolio —which included self-portraits) And he was nice and funny and liked Jeremy’s bakery and he was sitting down awfully close to him and pulling out his laptop and- did he just say something respond, go, respond, don’t sit there and stare.

“What would you recommend here?” He gestured to the empty cups, assuming Jeremy had some sort of experience with the place. He did; he was friends with the owners and without them, he might not have known what to do about starting his bakery.

“Um, really anything? I haven’t had everything but I can promise you it’ll be good.” Gavin gave him a smile as he let his computer boot up.

“Ok, I’m gonna grab something while I give this thing about a million bloody years to warm up.” He rolled his eyes a little and hopped up, sort of not sticking the landing perfectly and having to try very hard not to fall. Jeremy bit back a smile as Gavin frantically checked to see if anyone had seen him, and seemingly satisfied, got in line. And Jeremy would have hated waiting again if Gavin weren’t there to look at— wow, ok stalk alert much? Just… stop pretending the guy you hired is just eye candy. As if it were that easy. He contented himself with just watching Gavin’s computer boot up, feeling a panic shoot through him as the login screen displayed a very tiny picture of Gavin with someone else in the frame, another guy. And they looked awful close and it made Gavin look awful not single and he tried—and failed— to quash the disappointment.

Whatever. It made his life easier in the long run. He’d find someone else and he’d forget about Gavin and it would be a lot easier than obsessing over him for weeks

Gavin came back balancing a couple plates and a takeout cup very unsteadily, and Jeremy grabbed a plate from him before it toppled to the floor.

“Oh well, look at that, you grabbed yours. I’mean you had a fifty-fifty shot but- it’s an almond croissant. I hope you don’t mind that.” Gavin sat down before getting a horrified look on his face, “Oh god, you’re not allergic to nuts or anything are you because-“

Jeremy held up a hand to stop him, “You’re good, thanks for asking.” Now, what he said was very different from what he felt inside, because it was something akin to being lit on fire from the inside and having the heat escape through his cheeks. Because as much as his rational self wanted to dismiss it as just a friendly gesture, the very much _irrational_ part of him did not. That part of him wanted to cling to it like a lifeline, some scrap of hope that this was going to end up in the absolute best way. A June wedding, of course. With nice flowers. His cat as a groomsman.

(He was kidding.)

(Mostly.)

He shook himself out of thoughts of tuxedos and stand mixers and actually paid attention to reality. Which… was not much better because reality contained Gavin very close to him and still looking very nice. And also talking.

“So, like I said, there’s about fifty pictures here, and you’re good to use all of them. All that paperwork was not to tire out your hand.” Jeremy laughed a little, feeling his heart soar when Gavin smiled a little, creases forming at the corner of his eyes.

“Good, because I’d have to sue or something if I got carpal tunnel. I do all my best work with my hands.” Jeremy froze, realizing exactly what he’d said and picked up his drink, hoping the steam would conceal his embarrassed blush as he turned a little towards the computer screen and-

Well.

If he wasn’t blushing then, he sure as hell was now.

Because almost every picture there was a picture of him, and they were _nice_ pictures. He took a sip of his still too hot coffee, ignoring the burning in favor of trying to keep his composure. When had Gavin even taken such nice pictures of him?

“That, uh. That’s a lot of pictures of me.”

Gavin was picking at his pastry now, staring down at his hands. “When I went to get pictures of the actual store, I thought they looked sort of empty without anyone in them, and you were the only one there _and_ the owner and I… I should have asked and if you’d like I can come back when there’s customers and get some more. Free of charge. Of course.” Gavin left his breakfast alone, chewing on his lip as he met Jeremy’s eyes, waiting for an answer.

“Oh! Um. I mean, I think that would be good-” Jeremy saw something a little guilty flash across Gavin’s face, and he just couldn’t have that. “Not! Not that I don’t like these, I do. I never even considered having a picture of myself on my own website, which now that I say it, sounds kinda silly.” Gavin smiled a little half-smile out of the corner of his mouth and Jeremy didn’t hold back when he smiled back. “But, I also like the idea of having customers in there and making it look like I actually _have_ customers, so if it’s not a problem I wouldn’t mind more.”

“Not a problem at all, just let me know when you’d like me and I’ll make it happen!” Jeremy stopped himself from saying something monumentally dumb along the lines of _I’d always like you around_ and told Gavin the next time he was free he could pop on in and get some pictures, barring Sundays and when they were closed, of course.

Jeremy wasn’t in the habit of lying, so he didn’t lie to himself when he was disappointed that Gavin packed up, even though they had no reason to stay. He just scooped up his drink and food and headed back to try out some new recipes like he always did on the weekends.

Maybe he’d make something nice for when Gavin came. A little thank you for going out of his way. That was all it was.

He _definitely_ wasn’t doing it for the look on Gavin’s face when he slid the little box of petit fours over the counter, tied up with a ribbon and little thank you note and everything. _Absolutely_ wasn’t doing it for his lips parted in shock halfway through a word, and the fact that Gavin couldn’t quite look him in the eye. Couldn’t _possibly_ be doing it for the warm bloom in his chest when Gavin finally smiled at him before heading out the door.

No way. That would just be silly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a while and I'm sorry, but I have been trying. Hope you all still love me ;D


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything goes ever so smoothly for Jeremy, and one of his friends is about to lose his job.

Over the next couple of months, Jeremy had plenty of opportunity to make even nicer things for Gavin, to the point where he was scouring his recipe books for something new to make. He wasn’t even sure it was _working_ , if it was in any way making Gavin feel anything about him, but he had to hope.

He had made eclairs, tarts, apple crisp, countless other things that they didn’t even regularly _sell_ in the bakery, pretty much just to see the shocked and sweet smile on Gavin’s face every time he pushed something new across the counter. He would sometimes joke about how Jeremy couldn’t possibly make any money just handing out his _delicious_ baking to anyone who came in, and Jeremy always deflected it with a chuckle and a wave of his hand as if he wouldn’t go bankrupt to try and give Gavin something nice every time he came in. Didn’t matter that Gavin was _super_ out of his league, he would bake till he dropped.

Inevitably, Trevor and Matt noticed how he’d disappear into the kitchens and come out with something new for Gavin every time he showed up, and had something prepared even if he never did come (which was rare) and they couldn’t not say something. Them being best friends and all that.

Matt was the first to approach him, unfortunately.

“So when are you and Britain’s Next Top Model going on a date?” Matt leaned up against the counter Jeremy was working at, arms folded.

“Wh-what?” Jeremy spluttered, hands slipping on the rolling pin he was using and ripping a hole into his pie dough. He scowled and tried to fix it, and when it stuck to his fingers and ripped more, he balled it up and tossed it to the side. This was clearly not going to be a conversation he could have while messing with pie dough.

“You know, that guy who comes in like every day and you give him a _shit ton_ of free food and then make eyes at him when he buys something anyways? That guy?”

“Oh. Uh, no plans for a date anytime soon.” Jeremy mumbled a little bit, feeling his face heat up.

“What?! Come _on_ , Jeremy you’re sooo gay for him!”

“Am not!” Matt snorted and folded his arms, clearly not deceived in any way by Jeremy’s hasty defense.

“Sure, sure. I certainly don’t know what you being gay for somebody looks like, haven’t known you _nearly_ long enough to know you don’t say anything to them and just buy them things till they notice. I know you remember that dude we worked with, where you bought him lunch for like, six months before you learned he had a girlfriend.” Jeremy did remember, but he didn’t want to give Matt the satisfaction of knowing that.

“I’m just being nice. And besides, he’s good looking enough to have a girlfriend. Or boyfriend. Or both!”

“Oh, so you think he’s good looking do you?” Matt grinned smugly, and Jeremy frowned back and turned back to his pie dough, trying to indicate the conversation was over. It was sticky, and far too warm to work with, so he wrapped it up and stuffed it into the fridge, slamming the door a little too hard. Matt shrugged and threw up his arms in defeat. “Whatever dude, be sad and gay by yourself. Forever. Fine by me.”

And to Jeremy’s relief, Trevor walked in, watching bewildered as Matt stuck his hands further into the air and went to go deal with the beeping oven.

“What exactly was that about?” Trevor pointed at Matt walking away, calling out something about being gay and alone and Jeremy standing in his own way.

“Gavin.” Trevor’s eyes widened in understanding as Jeremy dug through the fridge for another pie crust, wanting to actually make something.

“I see. Being his usual self about it I see.”

Jeremy groaned, finding a ball of dough and placing it on the counter. “Tell me about it. He won’t hear it when I say Gavin’s got to be taken.”

“Well, I wouldn’t just assume that. He comes back almost every day, right?” Trevor sounded so hopeful, and Jeremy wanted to believe him _so badly_. “And he’s always super happy to see you, like, I see him when he comes in and he always looks almost sad if he doesn’t see you immediately and his face lights up when you come in.”

“Yeah, but also, consider. He’s cute and foreign, which is a perfectly dateable combo, and I always come in with free food. I’ve got him trained.” They both snorted at the idea that Jeremy had really applied some kind of conditioning to Gavin, and that he was coming for little more than the food he knew he would get.

“You might be right, but I think he likes you. Don’t get all mopey and stop yourself from getting a date with him just because you _think_ he might be taken.” Damn. He always kind of knew what to say. Jeremy sighed and brushed his hands off on his apron, dusting it even more with flour.

“I promise I will not mope over a boy, because I am an adult who can handle his feelings.” He droned, making Trevor roll his eyes and push off from the counter to lay a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder.

“All I’m saying is to not give up before anything’s even started.” Jeremy sighed and nodded. He had a good point, but being a shy idiot and not doing anything differently was _so_ easy. “I’m gonna go mess with that macaron filling some more, I can’t seem to get it to not just run off the cookies.”

“Lemme know if you need any help. I am the undisputed master of gelatin.” Trevor winced a little.

“Maybe don’t… lead with that one?”

“What, who wouldn’t want to date a master of gelatin?” He grinned and posed, hands on his hips, and Trevor just shook his head and walked off, presumably to get away from their resident gelatin master. Jeremy laughed a little to himself, murmuring that he was totally a catch. He totally was! Right? Had his own business, and he was… good looking enough, he was good enough to make a move and not get rejected, and even if he did he was mature enough to move on!

He could do this, no problem.

As he rolled out his pie dough, he steeled himself to ask Gavin on a date if he came in— as he was very likely to do— and if the answer was that he was already dating someone, well, he had prepared himself for that eventuality a very long time ago. This was gonna go fine. He had his friends who would totally cover for him if he wanted to be sad and snuggle with his cat for a little bit.

Yeah.

He could handle this.

And all through the morning, as the sun came up and flooded the storefront with light, he kept fighting off the thoughts that would creep in of all the ridiculous ways this could go wrong, and instead focused on getting the mixed berry ratio _just_ right for his tarts (they were working on adding new items for the impending summer— lemon was next on his list of things to experiment with). He lost himself in the repetition of it, the slight burn in his arms from rolling out ball after ball of pie dough, and the little bit of sanctuary he had from the bustle of customers he could hear out front. As much as running this store made him happy as hell, he really enjoyed getting to be away from it and baking on his own, more or less.

Eventually, though, the moment of truth arrived. Trevor popped in the back with a look in his eye that said everything Jeremy needed to know, and he wiped his hands off on his apron before grabbing a tart and slapping on a smile that he hoped didn’t seem desperate. Gavin was there at the counter, deciding on his usual purchase that Jeremy suspected he bought because he felt bad about getting free food. His face lit up as soon as he laid eyes on Jeremy, but it quickly morphed into a blush as his eyes flicked down a bit. Jeremy cocked an eyebrow and looked down at himself, wondering what Gavin could possibly be seeing.

Oh.

Maybe it was the apron, with pink scalloped edges at the top, a little bow, and the words _Tough Cookie_ embroidered on it.

That could be it. At least it wasn’t the _Beefcake_ apron. That thankfully stayed at home.

He looked around for assistance, but Trevor was nowhere to be found, and Matt was at the register, holding back his laughter as the pair stared at each other for an embarrassingly long time. Great. He wasn’t going to be any help, and would probably just end up being the exact opposite of help.

“I... I like the apron... s'... nice.” Gavin stammered out, face stained pink and eyes flicking around the store to avoid Jeremy’s gaze.

“Thanks…” Jeremy did his best not to drop the tart and sink to the floor in a puddle of embarrassment while Matt looked between them with a painfully shit eating grin on his face.

“Can I get you anything else?” Matt was leaning on the case, hand on his fist, and Jeremy made a mental note to fire him on the grounds that he was a _fucking asshole_.

“Me?” Gavin pointed at himself, still clearly caught off guard.

“Only one in line, aren’t you?” _Oh he’s definitely out of a job._

“Oh. Uh, can I get…” His eyes flicked to the sign on the case, “Two… dozen bagels?” Gavin wasn’t looking even near the general direction of where Jeremy was standing, and his entire plan to ask Gavin out went out the window. Gavin couldn’t possibly be into a guy who wore cutesy aprons. At least Gavin probably assumed he was into dudes at this point, though the thought came with more than a little bitterness.

“That all for you?”

“Y-yeah? Here.” Gavin shoved his card at Matt and started boring a hole into the two boxes of bagels on the counter. He didn’t speak much after that, taking his card and his absurd amount of bagels out the door with him Matt calling out a ‘see you soon!’ after him. As soon as the bells tinkled merrily, signaling Gavin’s departure, Jeremy’s composure finally buckled and he slipped to the floor, cradling the tart close to his chest. Only then did Trevor appear from the back with a tray of scones, looking over the scene. Jeremy crumpled on the floor, and Matt in near tears, hunched over the register.

“I wasn’t gone for _that_ long, what happened?”

Matt pointed at Jeremy, then out the door, wheezing as he did. “He… they… _fuck_.” He coughed a little bit, straightening up and catching his breath. “Jeremy’s got a cute apron on and his crush just bought two dozen bagels.” Jeremy looked piteously up at Trevor, then went back to looking down at the tart sadly.

“He did say he liked the apron.” Trevor placed the scones down delicately on a counter and jerked his thumb over his shoulder, glaring at Matt.

“Shut up, get out of here, and go deal with the other scones in the back. They need to be checked on and there’s about seven trays.” Matt went without complaining, laughing over the incident still as he did. He leaned down to pat Jeremy on the shoulder, congratulating him on a flirt well done. Trevor offered a hand to Jeremy, which he gratefully took and placed the tart down gingerly once he stood.

“I hope he knows he’s not helping at all. With anything. And hey, if I had thought about the apron I would have said something, I promise.”

“I know you would’ve. And I’m seriously considering firing him on the grounds that he’s an asshole.” Jeremy smoothed his hands over said apron, cursing every thread in the damned thing. It started as a gag gift for his birthday from Trevor and Matt a few years back, and it turned out he liked the aprons so much he now owned several, getting them for his birthday ever since. He was gonna kind of own the whole ‘gay baker’ thing.

“Did he really say he liked it?” Jeremy nodded and Trevor brightened considerably.

“That’s good! Unless he didn’t seem serious. He seemed serious, right?”

“Polite, maybe. I dunno, I can’t see why he’d be serious.” He really could have been serious, but Jeremy kind of just wanted to feel bad for himself right now. Trevor shrugged, still smiling.

“I don’t know but it’s not good to assume. It’s not that serious anyways. No way he suddenly decided you were completely unlikable, just… a quirk or something. Besides, clinging desperately to masculinity is _so_ last year.” He accented the statement with a little flip of his hand that made Jeremy laugh a little bit, and he started to pick up the pieces of his pride and fit them back together. “And in my admittedly limited experience, guys tend to like the less… macho types.”

“So I’ve been going to the gym for nothing then?” Trevor rolled his eyes and poked his bicep.

“Macho is not about _this_ ” His finger moved to over Jeremy’s heart, “But _this_.” Jeremy quirked an eyebrow, smiling in the way that told Trevor he was gonna say something stupid.

“My pec?”

“No, Jeremy, you’re not a douche. You’re like… one of those huge teddy bears people win at the fair. Big but soft on the inside.” Jeremy laughed and shook his head, brushing Trevor’s hand off.

“That’s weird but I’m gonna say thanks anyways.”

“Your softness is beside the point, because I just so happen to know a few things about Gavin that can help you.” Jeremy cocked his head with a look of surprise. “It’s not that weird, I just talk to him before you come in and sometimes he talks about things other than what drink he wants. He recently mentioned his birthday was coming up on the 23rd so I think your best chance to _actually_ make a move is to make him something for his birthday.” Trevor said it so casually, but Jeremy’s mind was in over drive. He had less than a week to plan and bake something, and it had to be something built to impress, as if everything he’d made up until that point wasn’t built to impress.

This was it. The most important test of his skills in all his years of baking. And he was determined to make this work. His love life depended on it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Gavin's birthday!
> 
> Gifts ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seasons Greasons everyone.

Gavin, despite approaching 30, still got excited for his birthday. He still took strides to make it special, though he often worked. He made sure his work wasn’t anything too time consuming, and today it was just a little photoshoot with Ryan and Meg after lunch together.

Understandably, but frustratingly, Meg asked about his love life. Specifically, his still massive crush on Jeremy. No, he hadn’t asked Jeremy out yet, no, they hadn’t gotten any further, yes, he panic bought two dozen bagels because his crush wears cute aprons when he works. And yes, Meg, he’s going to go see him today, and buy himself something nice for his birthday. That seemed to sate her, though she opened her mouth to maybe give him tips before he stared her down and she thought better of it.

He didn’t need to be interrogated, damnit. He was going to do this at his own pace. And as it turned out he was planning to say something today, so. Suck it, Turney.

(He wasn’t going to mention the fact that he absolutely chickened out of asking the day of the Great Bagel Incident.)

Gavin made sure to get there when he knew there wasn’t going to be a big crowd so that he could properly talk to Jeremy, and he spent an embarrassing amount of time at the bus stop psyching himself up to actually talk to a boy he thought was cute instead of dancing around him for months. Which he had already sort of been doing, to be fair, but he was going to stop doing it today and actually ask said cute boy out.

The god awful timing of the buses got him there just before closing, and he figured he might have to postpone his present to himself till he could get something a bit fresher. The now familiar chime of the bells sounded as he pushed the door open, smiling so wide it almost hurt when he saw Jeremy behind the counter. As he came a little closer, Jeremy started like he had just remembered something, and got a bit of panic in his eyes.

“Hold on!” And with that, he disappeared into the back, leaving Gavin alone in the empty shop, more than a little baffled. He quickly returned with a box, wrapped up with a pretty spring green ribbon. Gavin crept a bit closer, curious but cautious. Jeremy was smiling proudly about whatever was in this box, so it had to be pretty good, right?

“Happy birthday, Gav.” Jeremy pushed the box towards him, nodding a bit like he should open it. Gavin pulled at the ribbon till the bow fell flat and he could lift up the lid. “It’s a, uh, a black tea cake with vanilla honey buttercream. It’s the drink you get the most, so I figured you liked the flavors well enough.”

Gavin laughed softly, not even sure how to vocalize his feelings other than to stammer awkwardly. “How… how did you know today was my birthday?” Jeremy bit his lip, gaze flicking between Gavin and the cake.

“I- uh- Trevor. Trevor told me. Says you mentioned or something.” After a beat he fluttered his hands a bit, “I hope that’s not weird!” Gavin let out an honest to god laugh, his cheeks and ears warm.

“No, Jeremy, it’s incredibly sweet of you, I can’t believe the amount of work you put into this.” Jeremy shrugged a little, waving away the thought with his hand.

“It wasn’t a lot, I just wanted to do something nice for my favorite customer.” Gavin’s face slipped into one of utter shock, and it was Jeremy’s turn to laugh. “You _have_ to come out of your way to come here as often as you do, and… I appreciate it. Nice to have a regular this early in my career, you know? Also, uh, I know it’s a lot of cake, sorry about that, I didn’t think about having to make it for just one person.” Gavin grinned, wry and cheeky.

“Guess I’ll just have to share it with someone.” Jeremy turned a cute shade of pink as he processed that the _someone_ Gavin spoke of was him. All he had to say was an eloquent ‘oh’, before untying his (disappointingly plain) apron and putting it on the counter.

“You- you wanna come in the back? I have like, plates and forks and milk and stuff.” Gavin looked up from his box, a bit shocked that he was allowed in the back, like he wasn’t just a customer but something… more, maybe.

“I mean, if you don’t mind me coming in the back.”

Jeremy laughed a little, ushering him past the liminal space where the counter ended and there was nothing stopping him before other than pretense, “Yeah, absolutely, that’s where all the stuff is, and I have a little table back here.” Gavin looked down at the box in his hands and almost blindly followed Jeremy past all the stands and coffee makers, milk foamers and the boxes of teabags from a little shop a few miles out that made all their tea blends. (Gavin may or may not have gone there after falling in love with their tea.)

The back was admittedly not as magical as Gavin had somehow expected, but there was a certain thrill in it, being back among the sacks of flour and stand mixers that were larger than he knew existed. Gavin absolutely didn’t think about how those sacks of flour must have gotten there and how Jeremy was the only employee he’d seen so far with the strength to do it. Definitely didn’t get lost in _that_ train of thought.

Jeremy bustled around, opening fridges and cabinets until he had everything precariously balanced and moving slowly to the little table pushed in the corner. It looked suspiciously like an outdoor table, and Gavin seriously questioned why it was sitting there in the back of his bakery.

“It’s where we have lunch and it was like, twenty dollars.” Jeremy put a plate in front of Gavin and offered up a cup. Gavin smiled and took it gratefully, awkwardly offering to help Jeremy with some of the things in his arms so they didn’t just end up cleaning glass shards off the floor.

Jeremy cut them a couple pieces of cake and put a couple slices in the fridge for Matt and Trevor, boxing up the rest and putting it on the counter for Gavin to take home.

Gavin took a bite of the cake, and genuinely had to bite back a moan of delight. It tasted like a cup of tea in a cake. The frosting wasn’t too sugary, and it tasted just like a creamy vanilla tea with honey, just like he ordered all the time. “ _Jeremy_.” He hoped he didn’t sound _too_ breathy, but he couldn’t help it. “This is amazing. How did you make this taste absolutely perfect?”

“Lots and lots and lots and _lots_ of awful black tea cake thrown in the trash. I tried like, eight brands of tea and a couple different brew times and strengths for all of them… It was interesting. Might add this to the menu, if you aren’t offended at the idea of your birthday cake becoming a sale item.” Gavin leaned forward a bit, smirk on his face.

“You think I’d be hurt by getting _more_ opportunities to have this cake? You’re mad.” Jeremy chuckled, figuring that was fair enough logic.

“Maybe I’ll make cupcakes and set one aside for you.”

“Oh, god, you’re such a gift.” Jeremy smiled and ducked his head, feeling his face heat up. He was kind of sick of this cake for the moment, if he was being honest, working so hard to get it right that the burnt and bitter taste of bad batches still lingered in his mouth. But he picked at it, and found that with milk it was far better; he had never thought to have a proper slice of it.

Gavin chatted idly about his day with his model friends, and Jeremy kept just enough attention to hum at the right times, just sort of watching Gavin’s hands go wild and his eyes light up. God he was cute. Jeremy patted himself on the back for being a fucking genius, his normal plan of just gifting his way to affection was maybe kind of working a little. He was terrible at any other kind of flirting, so baking it was.

All of a sudden, Jeremy’s phone started making an awful lot of noise, and he dug it out, furiously slapping at buttons till it went away. “Fuck, sorry, I set an alarm telling me to get the hell out of here so I don’t just end up staying here till past when I should be home.”

“Do you… often stay late?”

“Yeah, I… I love baking, I guess is my explanation. Matt calls my apartment my second home.” Jeremy chuckled. “I’m pretty sure the only reason working in retail didn’t drive me insane was baking whenever I had the time.”

Gavin winced a little, eyes sympathetic. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure only my camera was there for me there for a while.” He patted the bag with a small smile, a little wistful, if Jeremy was reading it right. “Uh, do you… do you need to like close up shop here or something, I don’t want to keep you here all night.” Jeremy wouldn’t mind being there all night with Gavin, but he had a point. He did have to go home and sleep at some point.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea, not that I wasn’t having a nice time or anything, I just…” Jeremy trailed off while Gavin just laughed amicably and grabbed his cake.

“I had figured. I suppose I’ll see you next time I come around, yeah?” Gavin checked his watch quickly and deflated. “Christ, I’ve missed the bus… Well, wasn’t the last one of the night.”

“Do you just want a ride?” Jeremy asked, keys dangling off his fingers. “I don’t mind taking you home.”

“Really?”

“Sure, I tied you up here and made you miss your bus, it’s the least I can do.” Gavin stared down at the box in his hands before delicately balancing it on one hand to lean down and give Jeremy a slightly awkward one-armed hug. It was quick, and Jeremy was too startled to properly reciprocate it.

“Thank you. Been years since I got a proper cake for my birthday.” Jeremy smiled softly, not bothering to hide his fondness now. It was late, dark, the sun had finally hidden beneath the horizon, and Jeremy just didn’t much care anymore.

“Hey, how could I not for my favorite customer?” He put a particular gentleness in the tone, trying to just hint at _something_ more than Gavin being a customer. No reason to go all in. He let Gavin out first, turning on the alarm and locking the door with a resounding click, and dug out his phone to guide them both back to his car.

“Sorry, it’s kind of a mess in here.”

“You’re fine, my flat is absolute trash right now. Bloody cat went on a tear when I went on a trip and I’m still trying to clean up after her.” Jeremy’s eyes lit up, and Gavin couldn’t help but quirk an eyebrow.

“You’ve got a cat?!” Jeremy was bouncing in his seat.

“Yeah, you wanna see a picture?” Gavin was smiling now, and he dug his phone out of his pocket. He quickly found a picture of her on his Instagram and handed his phone over.

“Name’s Lloyd. She’s usually very lazy, but I don’t think I’ve left her alone for that long since she came over with me.” Gavin shrugs, “Dunno what’s up with her but she’s taken back to laying in warm spots on the furniture.” Jeremy made a soft little cooing noise and handed the phone back to Gavin.

“Sorry, I just… I have a couple cats of my own and I get too excited when people have cats.” Jeremy was a little pink and had his hands in his lap. Gavin smiled fondly over at him and laid a tentative hand on Jeremy’s rather broad arm.

“What’re their names?” Jeremy brightened again, shocked Gavin was this interested in him, or at the very least humoring him. Whatever, he’d take that, he’d humored the aprons, now he can humor his love of cats.

“Booker and Scooter. Wanna see a picture?” His excitement was unrestrained, and he didn’t care if his boundless love for his cats turned Gavin off him. He was going to share.

“I would love that, Jeremy.” Jeremy pulled his phone out, and he wasn’t ashamed of the fact that it was his lockscreen, but he realized it wasn’t the best picture and quickly went through his gallery to find another one. And if he… artfully chose one he also looked good in, one of Scooter curled up on his chest and sleeping peacefully, that was no big deal, right?

Right.

“That’s Scooter.” Gavin cooed softly and looked up to make sure it was ok if he took Jeremy’s phone from his hand, and Jeremy nodded a little.

“Adorable… Are they nice?” Jeremy took his phone back and thought for a second.

“Booker… Booker can get a little surly, but he’s pretty nice. Scooter is loud as hell and likes to play with trash bags, but he’s very cuddly. They’re both good cats.” Jeremy paused, sighing wistfully. “Sorry, I’m sure you wanna get home.”

“Got no one but Lloyd waiting for me, but I’m sure she misses me.” Gavin laughed softly and looked down at the boxed-up cake. “Thank you, again. It’s been a really lovely birthday.” Jeremy started the car and backed out of his spot carefully.

“Of course! I feel like you shouldn’t have to hate your birthday once you get past like, twenty-one. And I had the power to make yours special. Left or right?”

“What?”

“Do I need to turn left or right to get to your apartment?” Gavin jumped a little; he’d forgot he needed to guide Jeremy to where he lived.

“Right. I’ll be better about that.” Jeremy waved it off.

“You just had to get me started is all.”

The rest of the ride went pretty quietly, save for Gavin directing Jeremy until they’d pulled up to Gavin’s apartment building. It was a short little complex, and it looked a bit sad in the humming streetlights.

“Guess this is where I leave you.” Jeremy said, trying to control his sadness.

“Suppose it is. I’ll be back, though, you know it.” Gavin smiled and got out of the car, heading in to the building with a little wave. Jeremy settled back into the seat of his car, biting his fist and trying to bat off all the thoughts about not asking Gavin out, and having to face Trevor and Matt after another failed attempt to ask out his crush. As he got deeper and deeper into his thoughts, about how cute Gavin looked when he showed off his cats, the man himself burst through the doors of the complex again, still holding the cake and wearing his bag. He frantically patted at Jeremy’s window till he rolled it down, a very confused Jeremy sitting inside the car.

“Hey, sorry, um, do you wanna get some coffee sometime? Like, as a proper date because I like you and not just me being embarrassing about how many pictures I took of you because you’re kind of the perfect subject?” The words tumbled out of Gavin’s mouth so fast Jeremy could hardly keep up with them all. All he could muster was a sad little ‘I like you too…’ before just sitting in silence and trying to process everything. Gavin called him the perfect subject. He took that many pictures of him on _purpose_. Gavin had liked him this whole time. Gavin just asked him out. Gavin just _asked him out._ He _just_ did that, and— oh shit, he hasn’t said anything.

“That would be cool. A date, a date would be really cool.” Real classy there, Dooley, keep that up and you might just stumble your way into a proposal.

“Really?! Oh god, let me give you my number, we can work on details later.” Jeremy dug his phone out at Gavin’s request and handed it over, their hands brushing as he passed it off. Jeremy swore he felt sparks. “There. Text me tonight so I have yours, ok?” Jeremy can only nod. Gavin looks so bright, it feels like day again. “Great! I’ll see you soon!” And with that, Gavin skittered back into the building.

Damn. He had a date. And was going to spend all evening texting Gavin, arranging the date for the next day and then keeping it going till Jeremy resigned himself to running on nothing but energy drinks, even though he didn’t know it as he drove home. He couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> merry shitscram, or whatever other reason you have to celebrate today. hope it's a good one for ya.

**Author's Note:**

> whoo! ok so. Big fic. can't give an estimate on things like.... size or chapter length cause I don't like lying and I am a very organic writer, but it's a big un. I've committed to working on this and my other multi chapter [what have we done? (oh my god)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4500543/chapters/10233321) through the end of the summer. I did just get a full time job, which limits my writing time to the evenings and weekends but we'll see. I want to finish these by the end of the summer, preferably before whwd?(omg) gets to be too, too old but again, we'll see. I've sort of put other things on the back burner (though I do still take prompts!!) and usually having something to do during the day forces me to be creative when I don't.
> 
> It's an adventure for all of us, yeah?
> 
> Come visit me on tumblr at [m4d-m4x](http://m4d-m4x.tumblr.com/)


End file.
